POWs and the Global War on Terrorism: Year In Review 2004

The conduct of the parties in the global war on terrorism declared by the United States and the war in Iraq stirred up great controversy in 2004. The applicability of the accepted rules of war to these conflicts came under special scrutiny. Once the invasion of Afghanistan began in October 2001, the administration of Pres. George W. Bush declared that captured members of the al-Qaeda terrorist organization were “unlawful combatants” who had no right to protection under international law. Furthermore, such persons could be held indefinitely without formal charges under powers that Congress granted the president to fight terrorism. The administration also said it would apply the Geneva Conventions to soldiers of Afghanistan’s deposed Taliban regime but would not grant them status as prisoners of war (POWs; combatants who surrendered or were unable to fight owing to illness or wounds and were captured by their enemy). Since that time, more than 600 persons captured in Afghanistan and elsewhere had been detained in a U.S. military facility at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. The detainees included nationals of more than 30 countries, including the U.K., France, and Australia.

In March 2003 the U.S. led an invasion of Iraq to depose dictator Saddam Hussein. By the time President Bush declared an end to major combat operations in May 2003, coalition forces were holding more than 7,000 Iraqi POWs. Their fate and that of combatants captured since then became a global issue after photographs of U.S. soldiers abusing prisoners in Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad were published starting in April 2004. During the furor that ensued, more evidence came to light that prisoners held by the U.S. in various locations had been beaten, sexually assaulted, deprived of sleep and medical attention, frightened by dogs, and subjected to other forms of intimidation, humiliation, and abuse. These acts were part of interrogations, supposedly to get prisoners to reveal useful information about terrorist activities. The existence of “ghost detainees”—so called because their identities and locations were being kept secret, potentially in contravention of international law—was also reported.

The Law of Prisoners

Warfare has always contained an element of lawlessness, and POWs are among the most vulnerable of its victims. In ancient times it was common for POWs to be killed, tortured, or enslaved. By the 17th century, POWs had come to be regarded as prisoners of the detaining state and not the property of individual captors. It was not until 1899, with the signing of the First Hague Convention, however, that the international community agreed to codify rules for safeguarding POWs against neglect and mistreatment. These rules were strengthened somewhat in the Second Hague Convention of 1907, but they still proved to be inadequate protection for POWs during World War I. Despite numerous reports of POWs’ having been abused, little effort was made after 1918 to punish those responsible.

The Third Geneva Convention was drafted in 1929 specifically to address issues surrounding the treatment of POWs. (The First Geneva Convention [1864] dealt with the care of wounded soldiers; a second convention covered warfare at sea.) The 1929 convention made it illegal to torture POWs and stated that a prisoner was required to provide only his or her name, date of birth, rank, and service number (if applicable). Prisoners also had to be supplied food sufficient to keep them in good health, adequate clothing, and medical care, and they were to be protected against violence, degrading or humiliating treatment, and public curiosity. The convention also called for POWs to be released and repatriated without delay once hostilities had ended. Another important measure to ensure humane treatment of prisoners, visits by the International Committee of the Red Cross, was stipulated under the convention, and the detaining government was enjoined to follow the ICRC’s advice.

The Third Geneva Convention was in force during World War II. Because Japan and the Soviet Union had not signed it, however, both states declared that they were not required to treat POWs according to its rules. This led to widespread abuses and retaliation by Nazi Germany against Soviet prisoners under its control. After the war many German and Japanese officers were tried and convicted for the maltreatment and murder of POWs.

The Third Geneva Convention was revised in 1949, and a fourth section was added to protect civilians. The entire set is currently referred to as the “Geneva Conventions of 1949” or, more commonly, the “Geneva Conventions.” Together these form the basis of modern international humanitarian law (also known as the laws of war), and 192 countries—including Afghanistan, Iraq, and the U.S.—are parties to them. In 1977 two protocols were added to the Geneva Conventions that significantly altered the criteria of eligibility for POW status, but Afghanistan, Iraq, and the U.S. were not signatories.

The Geneva Conventions

The Geneva Conventions divide all persons in an armed conflict into two categories: combatants and civilians. Combatants are authorized to fight in accordance with the laws of war on behalf of a party to the conflict. Civilians are not authorized to fight but are protected from deliberate targeting by combatants as long as they do not take up arms. Under the Geneva Conventions, parties to an armed conflict have the right to capture and intern enemy combatants as well as civilians who pose a danger to the security of the state. Enemy combatants are not presumed to be guilty of any crime; rather, they are detained to remove them as a threat on the battlefield. The detaining power has the right to punish enemy soldiers and civilians for crimes committed prior to their capture as well as during captivity, but only after a fair trial in accordance with applicable international law. The Geneva Conventions stipulate that POWs should be tried in a military court unless the existing laws of the detaining power permit trials of its own military personnel in a civil court for the same offense. POWs have the right to defense by a qualified advocate or counsel of his or her own choice, to the calling of witnesses, and, if he or she deems it necessary, to the services of a competent interpreter. For example, former Panamanian leader Gen. Manuel Noriega was given a 30-year prison term for drug trafficking and other crimes even though he was a POW captured during the U.S. invasion of Panama in 1989. According to the ICRC, all detainees taken in war are protected by the Geneva Conventions, and violations of the accords may constitute either war crimes or crimes against humanity.

To be considered POWs under the Geneva Conventions, detainees must fall under one of these categories:

1. Members of the regular armed forces of a party to the conflict or of militias or volunteer corps forming part of such armed forces

2. Members of other militias or other volunteer corps, including those of organized resistance movements, as long as they:

(a) are part of an identifiable command structure

(b) have fixed distinctive insignia recognizable at a distance

(c) carry their arms openly

(d) conduct their operations in accordance with the laws of war

3. Members of regular armed forces who profess allegiance to a government or an authority not recognized by the detaining power

4. Inhabitants of a nonoccupied territory who have spontaneously taken up arms to resist an invading force, provided that they carry arms openly and respect the laws of war.

The Geneva Conventions state that should any doubt arise as to whether detainees fit these categories, they “shall enjoy the protection of the present convention” until “their status has been determined by a competent tribunal.” Also, precedents can be set that expand or reinforce definitions. During the Korean War the U.S. and its allies treated Chinese detainees as POWs even though the People’s Republic of China was not yet recognized diplomatically. Also, Viet Cong guerrillas captured by the U.S. during the Vietnam War were given POW status despite the fact that they often wore civilian clothing with no insignia and did not carry their arms openly.

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